Carton forming and closing apparatus



July 7, 1964 s. OTTO CARTON FORMING AN D CLOSING APPARATUS Filed Feb. 16, 1961 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 11v ENTOR.

| STUART OTTO his ATTORNEYS.

July 7, 1964 s. OTTO CARTON FORMING AND CLOSING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Feb. 16. 1961 INVENTOR. STUART OTTO FIG. 2.

his ATTORNEYS.

July 7, 1964 s. OTTO CARTON FORMING AND CLOSING APPARATUS 6 Sheets$heet E5 Filed Feb. 16. 1961 STUART OTTO his ATTORNEYS.

July 7, 1964 s. OTTO CARTON FORMING AND CLOSING APPARATUS ATTORNEYS.

mo T MT 0 m. R A U T s 6 Sheets-Sheet 4 his Filed Feb. 16, 1961 July 7, 1964 s. OTTO CARTON FORMING AND CLOSING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 Filed Feb. 16, 1961 INVENTOR. STUART OTTO his ATTORNEYS.

July 7, 1964 s. OTTO CARTON FORMING AND CLOSING APPARATUS 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Filed Feb. 16, 1961 E R K V 5::

INVENTOR.

STUART OTTO YMW 3 f A 4 if? 5:: V J

his ATTORNEYS.

United States Patent 3,139,715 CARTON FORMING AND CLOSING APPARATUS Stuart Otto, 34 Sylvan Road N., Westport, Conn; Margaret G. Otto, executrix of said Stuart Otto, deceased Filed Feb. 16, 1961, Ser. No. 89,781 11 Claims. (Cl. 53-192) This invention relates to a novel apparatus for forming, filling and closing cartons.

In the present invention, a carton is formed by the cooperation and relative movement between a chute and a forming die. When the carton is set up, the articles to be packaged are dispensed through the chute into the carton. Thus, the chute not only helps form the carton, but it provides the passage which conducts the articles to the carton. When the carton has been filled, pro vision is made for automatically closing the lid.

The apparatus of the present invention also can be conveniently equipped with provision for marking or printing on the outer surface of the carton.

For a complete understanding of the present invention, reference should be made to the detailed description which follows, and to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevational view of the apparatus of the present invention with certain parts broken away and certain parts shown in cross-section;

FIGURES 2 and 3 are views taken along the lines 22 and 3-3, respectively, of FIGURE 1, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FiGURE 2A is a fragmentary view in cross-section of the upper filling end of the chute;

FIGURES 4 and 5 are views taken along the lines 4-4 and 55, respectively, of FIGURE 3, looking in the direction of the arrows;

FIGURE 6 is a plan view of a blank in registered position above the forming die;

FIGURE 7 is a perspective view of the blank in partially formed condition as it enters the upper end of the forming die;

FIGURE 8 is an elevational View, partly in cross-sec tion, of an alternative embodiment of the lid-closing apparatus shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, inclusive;

FIGURE 9 is a schematic elevational view of a printing apparatus which is applicable to the apparatus of the present invention; and

FIGURE 10 is an elevational view of still another embodiment of the lid-closing apparatus.

Referring to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, the cartons into which articles are to be packaged in accordance with the present invention are made from blanks x which are cut and scored and fed seriatim across the upper surface of a table 10 by feed rolls or suction feeders (not shown) between a pair of side guides 11 until the leading edge of the blank engages a fixed stop 12. The table 10 is supported by the main frame A of the machine.

The blanks x, as best shown in FIGURES 6 and 7, are each cut and scored to define a bottom panel a, front and rear panels b and 0, side panels d and e, a pair of glue tabs g carried by each of the panels I) and c, and a lid or cover It. The side walls at and e of the blank are scored along lines It to provide side flaps 1 which are folded inwardly, over the contents of the carton before the cover is closed. Also, the cover is scored along a line in to provide a tuck-in fiap 11. While the blank is being advanced to the registered position shown in FiG.

6, the portions of the upper surfaces of the panels at and e against which the glue tabs will ultimately come into contact have glue applied to them. 1

The blank x, in the registered position shown in FIG.

6, is positioned above a cross-shaped slot or opening in 3,139,715 Patented July 7, 1964 the table 10 defined by the edges 13. A forming die 14 of rectangular cross-section is positioned beneath the central portion of the slot or opening in the table, and a filling chute 15 is positioned above the table and in alignment with the forming die. The filling chute 15 is mounted for vertical movement in guides of the horizontal upper and lower members 16 and 17, respectively, of the main frame A. The chute 15 is in telescoping relationship with the lower end of an upper stationary hopper 18 (see FIGURE 2A).

The chute 15 is connected to a movable piston rod 19. The piston to which the rod 19 is connected moves within a vertically disposed air cylinder 20 supported by the main frame A. By controlling the air pressure in the cylinder on opposite sides of the piston, the piston rod 19 can be moved upwardly to raise the chute 15 or downwardly to lower the chute.

The upper end of the forming die 14 includes four outwardly extending panel-bending Walls 14a, 14b, 14c and 14d. The wall 14a extends forwardly underneath the front portion of the cross-shaped opening in the table 19 and lies underneath the front wall panel b of the blank. The wall 14b extends rearwardly below the rear portion of the opening and lies beneath the rear wall panel 0 of the blank. The remaining two panel-bending walls 140 and 14d extend laterally and lie beneath the side wall panels d and e, respectively, of the blank. The bottom panel a of the blank is directly above the central portion of the opening in the table 10 and aligned with respect to the forming die 14 and the chute 15. The effective portions of the walls 14a and 14!) extend somewhat higher than the walls and 1 rd so that when the chute descends and the lower end thereof comes into engagement with the panel a of the blank to push the panel a through the opening in the table and into the forming die, the front and rear wall panels b and c of the blank will be folded upwardly before the side wall panels d and e. This insures that the glue tabs g will be disposed and inside the side wall panels in contact with the portions thereof to which the glue has been applied.

The Walls of the blank are set up and the tabs g pressed against the glued portions by the pressure exerted between the outer surface of the chute and the inner surface of the forming die as the set-up carton y is pushed through the die by the lower end of the chute. The carton ultimately comes into engagement with the upper span of a continuously or intermittently driven conveyor 25. While the filling chute is still in telescoping relationship with the carton, the articles to be packaged are introduced into the upper end of the hopper, falling through the chute 15 into the carton. If the articles are magnetic, such as steel nails, it may be desirable to orient them in parallel relationship within the carton. Toward this end, the pole faces of the core B1 of a powerful electromagnet B are disposed on opposite sides of the forming die 14. The electromagnet produces a strong magnetic field across the chute which orients the nails or other articles falling through the chute into the carton. When the electromagnet is effectively de-energized, the articles settle within the container in parallel relationship.

For a more complete understanding of the carton forming and filling components of the apparatus, reference can be made to the copending application of Stuart Otto, Serial No. 59,442, filed September 29, 1960 (a continuation-impart of an abandoned parent application, Serial No. 13,758, filed March 9, 1960). Also, for a more complete understanding of the parallel packaging features of the apparatus, reference can be made to the United States Letters Patent granted to Stuart Otto, Nos. 2,581,042, 2,602,942, 2,899,783 and 2,916,862. It should, of course, be understood that the carton forming filling j and closing features of the present invention are not limports the erected carton.

ited to parallel packaging machines, but are applicable to packaging machines generally.

Turning now to a description of the carton closing apparatus of the present invention, as soon as the chute 15 is raised out of telescoping relationship with the formed carton y, a pair of side-flap deflectors 3i and 31 move inwardly to engage the upstanding flaps f and fold them along their respective score lines k to positions overlying the articles packaged within the carton. The sideflap deflectors 30 and 31 are supported for reciprocating movement by a pair of telescoping brackets 32 and 33, respectively. The bracket 32 includes an upstanding portion which extends downwardly throuh a guide slot 34 in the frame plate 48 and a lower laterally extending portion which is accommodated for movement within a guide slot 35 in the lower end of the bracket 33. Similarly, the bracket 33 includes an upstanding portion which extends downwardly through a guide slot 36 in the frame 1 plate and a laterally extending portion which is accommodated within a guide slot 37 of the bracket 32. The vertically disposed portions of the brackets 32 and 33 carry bushings 40 which move within the guide slots 34 and 36, respectively.

The side-flap deflectors 30 and 31 are shown in their inoperative or spaced-apart positions in FIGURE 4, and in the same figure the operative positions thereof are indicated in phantom lines; In moving from the inoperative to the operative positions the deflector 30 passes through'an opening 38 in one side of the die 14 and the deflector 31 passes through an opening 39 in the opposite side of the die, bringing the deflectors into engagement with the flaps f of the carton. The convexly curved undersides 30a and 31a of the deflectors 30 and 31, respectively, bend these flaps f downwardly overthe contents of the carton.

The side-flap deflectors 3t and 31 are actuated by an air cylinder 41 through a rack and pinion arrangement best shown in FIGURE 4. Toward this end, the laterally disposed portion of thebracket 33 carries a rack 43 having teeth formed along its lower edge which mesh with a rotatable pinion 44. Similarly, the laterally disposed portion of the bracket 32 carries a rack 45 having teeth formed along its upper edge which mesh with the same pinion. The pinion is-supported on a shaft 46 which is rotatably mounted in bearings 47. The bearings 47 are fixed to the underside of the frame plate 48 which sup- Rotational movement is imparted to the shaft46 by the air cylinder 41 through a lever arm 50. The lever arm is fixed to the shaft 46 at one end and pivotally connected to the piston rod 41a of the air cylinder at its other end.

The end of the air cylinder 41 opposite the piston rod is pivotally connected by a pin 51 to a downwardly depending bracket 49 of the frame of the machine.-

-When the piston 41a of the air cylinder is displaced in one direction, rotational motion is imparted to the shaft 46 andt he pinion 44, moving the deflectors 30 and 31 shown in phantom lines in the same figure. This operation occurs immediately after the carton is filled and the chute 15 is'raised. The brackets 32 and 33 also carry gate elements 52 which moves to positions in front of the discharge opening 63 in the lower end of the die 14 to prevent the carton from being removed from the filling position until after the carton closing operation is completed. Prior to the movement of the stop elements 52 to their operative positions, removal of the carton from the filling position would, of course, have been pre-- vented by the telescoping engagement of the lower end of the chute with the carton.

. The lid closing operation is best described in connec- 55 is fixedly connected to a horizontal shaft 57 which is supported for rotational movement between a pair of bearings 58. One end of the shaft 57 has a lever arm 59 attached to it, and the free end of the lever arm is pivotally connected to a piston arm 60a of an air cylinder 60. The opposite side of the air cylinder 60 is pivotally connected to the frame by a hinge pin 61 supported between arms of a bracket 62. The lower end of the bracket 62 is bolted to the frame of the machine.

When the piston arm 60a is driven to the left, as viewed in FIGURE 5, the cover-closing deflector 55 is pivoted in a clockwise direction through the positions indicated in phantom lines by the reference numerals 55' and 55.'. This operation brings the cover-closing deflector into engagement with the upstanding cover panel h of the carton, moving it downwardly to closed position. In this closing operation, the upper forwardly inclined platen surfaces of the side-flap deflectors 30 and 31, respectively, cooperate with the cover-closing deflector 55 in bending the tuck-in flap it along the score line m and in insuring that it will be guided to its proper closed position inside the front wall b of the carton. More specifically, as the cover It is moved toward closed position by the pivotal movement of the cover-closing deflector 55, the cover ultimately comes into contact with the upper sloped surfaces of the side-flap deflectors. Since the score line m in the cover which defines the tuck-in flap n is approximately aligned with or just outboard of the upper forward edges of the side-flap deflectors when the cover engages the upper surfaces thereof, the tuck-in flap n will be bentdownwardly by the downwardly projecting lip 55a of the cover-closing deflector; 'As soon as this bending action is initiated, the air cylinder 41 is actuated to withdraw the side-flap deflectors 3d and 31 from beneath the cover flap of the carton. Thus the side-flap deflectors 30 and 31 remain in their operative positions long enough to initiate the bending action along the score line m, but not long enough to interfere with the full stroke of the cover-closing deflector 55.

The downwardly projecting lip 55a of the cover-closing deflector enters the carton between the tuck-in flap n and the adjacent wall b of the carton at the completion of its clockwise stroke. The deflector 55 is then abruptly moved in the opposite direction to its initial inoperative position shown in solid lines in FIGURE 5 so that it will be out of the path of the next carton delivered to the filling position. Also, the gate elements 52' are moved to open position with the side-flap deflectors 3i) and 31, permitting the closed carton to be advanced through the discharge opening 63 in the lower end of the forming .dieby the conveyor 25.-

Turning now to a description of the operation of the apparatus shown in FIGURES 1 to 6, inclusive, the carton is formed from the blank x by the downward movement of the chute 15 which displaces the blank through the slot 13 in the table 10 and into the upper end of the forming die 14 as explained above. Since the upper deflectors 14a and 14b of the forming die are somewhat higher than the side flap deflectors 14c and 14d, the walls 12 and c which carry the glue tabs g will 'be deflected upwardly before the walls d -ande, thereby insuring that the glue tabs will be positioned inside the walls d and e. As the lower end of the chute continues its travel through the forming die, the glue will set sufficiently to maintain the carton in set-up condition. The carton ultimately comes to rest on the conveyor belt 25 with the lower end of the chute in telescoping relationship therewith, and the carton is filled by dropping a batch of the articles to be packaged in the carton into the upper end of the chute. If the articles are to'be aligned in parallel relationship within the carton, it is unnecessary to wait'until the carton has been deposited on the conveyor belt before dropping the material into the chute, but instead the carton is filled at the level of the core B1 of the electromagnet B; only after energization can it be lowered to the belt level. V

When the carton has been filled, the chute 15 is raised and the side-flap deflector-s30 and 31 are actuated to fold the side-flaps over the contents of the package. The gate elements 52 are also moved into position to prevent premature removal of the carton from filling position. With the side-flap deflectors 3t and 31 still in operative position, the cover deflector 55 is actuated to bend the cover flap h down over the upper sloped surface of the deflectors 3i) and 31, and also to bend the tuck-in flap n downwardly over the uppermost front edges of the sideflap deflectors. The downwardly projecting lip 55a of the cover deflector 55 enters the carton just inside the vertical wall b thereof, whereupon the side-flap deflectors are quickly moved outwardly to inoperative positions so that they do not interfere with the final portion of the pivotal movement of the deflector 55 which completes the cover closing operation. When the cover has been closed, the deflector 55 is pivoted in the opposite direction and the closed carton is advanced from the filling position by the conveyor belt 25.

In the event that the conveyor belt 25 is continuously moving, the carton y will be displaced from its filling position to a position in contact with the gate elements 52 after the chute is raised. Accordingly, it may be desirable to modify the cover-closing deflector 55 in the manner indicated in FIGURE by providing it with a carton displacing cam element 55b offset forwardly from the lip 55a. The cam element 55b is slightly longer than the lip 55a so that when the deflector is pivoted during its cover-closing operation the cam element 55b will engage the forward wall of the carton and pull it back to a predetermined position to insure that the lip 55a will guide the tuck-in flap of the cover to the desired position inside the front wall of the carton.

Incidentally, the side flap deflectors are shown in FIG- URE 10 in the form of right angle pusher elements 64. The upper edges of the upstanding portions of these pusher elements 64 serve the same purpose as the upper forward edges of the side flap deflectors 30 and 31, namely, to present a bending edge about which the tuck-in flap is bent before it is inserted into the carton.

An alternative apparatus for closing the lid of the carton is shown in the embodiment illustrated in FIGURE 8 of the drawings. In this embodiment, a cover closing deflector 70 is carried by an arm 71 which extends from the end of a movable piston rod 72. The piston rod 72 is attached to a movable piston accommodated within an air cylinder 73. The air cylinder 73, in turn, is pivotally connected to the main frame A of the machine from an upstanding bracket 75 by a pin 74.

Pivotal motion is imparted to the air cylinder 73 by the movable piston of another air cylinder 76 through its piston rod 77 which is pivotally connected to the free end of the air cylinder 73. The air cylinder 76 is also pivotally connected to the main frame A of the machine by the hinge pin 78 and the upstanding bracket '79.

The cover deflector element is normally positioned in its inoperaitve position (shown in solid lines in FIGURE 8) during the carton forming and filling operation. Just as in the embodiment described above in connection with FIGURES 1 to 6 of the drawings, after the carton is filled the side-flap deflectors 30 and 31 are displaced toward each other bending the flaps f to positions overlying the contents of the carton. The cover-closing deflector 70 is then moved to the right as viewed in FIGURE 8,

moving in a curved path indicated by the positions 70a engages the cover flap h and bends the cover downwardly. The deflector 70 can be controlled by the air cylinder 76 to slide upwardly along the upper surfaces of the side flap deflectors or to raise the deflector 70 before it engages the cover flap h to bring it into engagement with the cover nearer the free end and more remote from the cover score line in order to minimize the force necessary to initiate the bending action. The cover deflector 70 continues to move to the right (as shown in FIGURE 8) until a downwardly depending guide element 80 carried at the trailing end thereof passes beyond the upper, forward bending edges of the side flap deflectors 30 and 31, whereupon the operation of the air cylinder 76 lowers the deflector 79 carrying the guide element 89 and the tuck-in flap n in engagement therein toward its desired ultimate position inside the front Wall of the carton. As explained above, in connection with the embodiment described in FIGURES 1 to 5, inclusive, when the tuck-in flap n has been bent along the score line m by the cooperation between the deflector 70 and the upper bending edges of the side flap deflectors 30 and 31, the side flap deflectors are withdrawn to inoperative positions permitting the cover deflector 70 to complete the closing operation. To insure that the tuck-in flap n is inserted inside the front wall of the carton, it may be desirable to control the air cylinder 73 to impart a slight leftward movement (as shown in FIGURE 8) to the deflector 70 during insertion of the tuck-in flap within the carton so that the surface 70c will pull the carton backward slightly. As the cover deflector continues its downward motion from the position 71)" to the position 70", the arm 71 force the tuck-in flap downwardly into the carton. The closing operation having been completed, the deflector '70 is now raised and moved to the left to its initial inoperative position.

The apparatus of the present invention can be equipped with a printing mechanism, as schematically shown in FIG- URE 9, for marking or printing on the outer surface of the carton. The printing mechanism includes a rotatable printing cylinder carried at the upper end of a movable support 86. The support 86 also carries an ink roller 87 which is in engagement with the outer printing surface of the printing cylinder. The printing cylinder is stationed adjacent an opening 88 in the forming die, and this opening permits the printing cylinder to come into printing engagement with the outer surface of the carton as it is pushed downwardly through the forming die by the lower end of the movable chute 15, the outer surface of the chute 15 serving as an impression or backing surface during the printing operaton. The printing cylinder 85 is normally maintained in inoperative position in contact with a stop 89 by a spring 90 so that the printing cylinder will not engage the outer surface of the chute during the upward travel thereof in the forming die. However, during the downward. travel of the chute 15, at which time the lower end of the chute is pushing the formed carton through the forming die, the energization of a solenoid 91 moves the printing cylinder 85 into printing engagement with the outer surface of the carton. The solenoid 91 is actuated by a microswitch (not shown) closed by the chute 15 or the movable piston rod 19 which imparts motion to the chute.

It is apparent that it is convenient to mark or print on the cover of the carton during the carton-forming operation. It eliminates the need for providing a printing station after the carton has been formed and filled. Furthermore, the outer surface of the chute 15 provides an ideal impression surface directly behind the surface receiving the printing impressions, thereby insuring the necessary pressure contact between the printing surface and the surface to receive the printing impressions to form clear, clean printing impressions.

The invention has been shown in preferred forms and by way of example only, and obviously many modifications nad variations can be made therein without departing from the spirit of the invention. The invention, therefore,'is not to be limited to any specified form or embodiment, except insofar as such limitations are expressly set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An apparatus for forming, filling and closing a carton made from a cut and scored blank which includes a hinged cover and at least one flap hinged to a wall adjacent the wall to which the cover is hinged comprising a forming die having a die passage therethrough between an upper inlet end and a lower discharge end, a chute having a passage therethrough for filling the carton to be set up, the relative movement between the forming die and the chute bringing the chute into engagement With a blank stationed therebetween and causing the forming die to set up the carton as the blank passes through the passage of the forming die from the inlet to the discharge end, the carton being filled through the chute after the Y carton is set up and while the lower end of the chute is still in telescoping relation with the carton, cover closing means at the discharge end of the forming die passage for engaging the cover after the chute and carton are separated and before the carton is removed from beneath the lower discharge end of the forming die, means bending said flap inwardly beneath the cover and cooperating with the cover closing means for bending the free end of the cover to facilitate tucking it in the carton, and means for imparting reciprocatory motion to said flap bending means to move it from an initial position into its operative position while the carton is in position below the lower discharge end of the forming die.

2. An apparatus for closing a carton made from a blank which includes a hinged cover and a flap hinged to each of the side walls adjacent the wall to which the cover is hinged comprising a pair of deflectors movable from spaced-apart inoperative positions toward each other to bend the flaps inwardly, and a cover-engageable element which moves the cover toward closed position and into engagement with the deflectors to bend the free end of the cover so that it can be inserted within the carton as a tuck-inflap. g

3. An. apparatus as set forth in claim 2 including telescoping parts connected to'the deflectors, and common actuating meansfor imparting motion to the deflectors in synchronism. I

t 4. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the cover-engageable means includes a pivotal element which carries a downwardly projecting lip for guiding the tuckin flap into the carton.

5. An apparatus as set forth in claim 2 in which the cover-engageable means includes a reciprocable cam element which moves across the upper surfaces of the deflectors in closing the cover.

6. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5 in which the cam element carries a downwardly projecting guide at the trailing end'thereof for inserting the tuck-in flap of the cover into the carton.

7. An apparatus as set forth in claim 5 including actuating means for imparting reciprocating motion to the coverengageable means, and second actuating means for imparting reciprocating motion to the cover-engaging means in a different direction during each stroke of thecoverengaging means, thereby imparting a controlled motion in a curved path to the cover-engaging means. 7

8. A cover-closing deflector movable into engagement with a hinged cover of a carton to close the cover comprising a carton displacing cam surface carried by the deflector which engages the outer side of a wall of the carton to displace the carton to a predetermined position and a guide means carried by the deflector and'spaced behind said carton displacing means for guiding the free end of the cover into the carton as a tuck-in flap.

9. An apparatus for closing a carton made from a blank which includes a hinged cover comprising coverclosing means movable into engagement with the cover to close the cover, means movable into the path of the cover in the closing thereof for cooperating with the cover-closing means to bend a tuck-in flap at the free end of the cover and then withdrawing out of the path of the cover, and means for imparting motion to said means cooperating with the cover closing means to move it from an initial position to the position at which it cooperates with the cover closing means during the cover closing operation thereof and then back to theinitial position before.

10. An apparatus as set forth in claim 9 in which the blank includes a side flap hinged to a side wall adjacent the wall to which the cover is hinged and in which the means movable. into the path of the cover also serves to fold the side flap inwardly beneath the cover.

11. An apparatus for closing a carton made from a blank which includes a hinged cover comprising coverclosing means movable into engagement with the cover to close the cover, tuck-in means carried by the cover-closing means to insert the free end of the cover into the carton as a tuck-in flap, and cam means carried by the coverclosing means to engage an outside wall of the carton and displace the carton to predetermined position before the tuck-in means introduces the tuck-in flap inside the said wall.

References Cited in the file of this patent 

1. AN APPARATUS FOR FORMING, FILLING AND CLOSING A CARTON MADE FROM A CUT AND SCORED BLANK WHICH INCLUDES A HINGED COVER AND AT LEAST ONE FLAP HINGED TO A WALL ADJACENT THE WALL TO WHICH THE COVER IS HINGED COMPRISING A FORMING DIE HAVING A DIE PASSAGE THERETHROUGH BETWEEN AN UPPER INLET END AND A LOWER DISCHARGE END, A CHUTE HAVING A PASSAGE THERETHROUGH FOR FILLING THE CARTON TO BE SET UP, THE RELATIVE MOVEMENT BETWEEN THE FORMING DIE AND THE CHUTE BRINGING THE CHUTE INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH A BLANK STATIONED THEREBETWEEN AND CAUSING THE FORMING DIE TO SET UP THE CARTON AS THE BLANK PASSES THROUGH THE PASSAGE OF THE FORMING DIE FROM THE INLET TO THE DISCHARGE END, THE CARTON BEING FILLED THROUGH THE CHUTE AFTER THE CARTON IS SET UP AND WHILE THE LOWER END OF THE CHUTE IS STILL IN TELESCOPING RELATION WITH THE CARTON, COVER CLOSING MEANS AT THE DISCHARGE END OF THE FORMING DIE PASSAGE FOR ENGAGING THE COVER AFTER THE CHUTE AND CARTON ARE SEPARATED AND BEFORE THE CARTON IS REMOVED FROM BENEATH THE LOWER DISCHARGE END OF THE FORMING DIE, MEANS BENDING SAID FLAP INWARDLY BENEATH THE COVER AND COOPERATING WITH THE COVER CLOSING MEANS FOR BENDING THE FREE END OF THE COVER TO FACILITATE TUCKING IT IN THE CARTON, AND MEANS FOR IMPARTING RECIPROCATORY MOTION TO SAID FLAP BENDING MEANS TO MOVE IT FROM AN INITIAL POSITION INTO ITS OPERATIVE POSITION WHILE THE CARTON IS IN POSITION BELOW THE LOWER DISCHARGE END OF THE FORMING DIE. 